1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to enhancing the sound quality of mechanical acoustic sound generation devices, and more particularly enhancing the sound quality of mechanical acoustic musical instruments.
2. Description of Related Art
Mechanical acoustic sound generation devices, in particular, mechanical acoustic musical instruments are created to produce high quality sound. These instruments"" sound quality vary, typically as a function of their size and quality of their materials, construction, and mechanisms. For example, concert grand pianos that are large, very carefully engineered, and made with the highest quality materials and mechanisms produce very high quality perceived sound. Similarly, concert cellos that are large and constructed of the finest materials produce high quality perceived sound.
Due to costs, limited raw materials, and high volumes, all acoustic sound generation devices manufactured do not produce high quality perceived sound. Some more affordable devices, available to the average consumer, have a perceived sound quality far below their expensive counterparts. An object of the present invention is to enhance the sound quality of more affordable mechanical acoustic sound generation devices while not employing the expensive materials, mechanisms, or assembly methods of superior mechanical acoustic sound generation devices.
The present invention includes a system and method for enhancing the perceived sound quality of a first mechanical acoustic sound generation device. The first device is capable of producing a first plurality of notes each note having a fundamental frequency. In this first device, a second, smaller plurality of the first plurality of the notes have a perceived sound quality lower than the perceived sound quality of corresponding notes produced by a second mechanical acoustic sound generation device. The invention enhances the perceived sound quality of the first device by determining when a note is generated by the first mechanical device and determining whether the note is one of the second, smaller plurality of the first plurality of notes. When the determined note is one of the second, smaller plurality of the first plurality of notes, the invention generates an acoustic representation of a corresponding note digitally sampled from the second mechanical device. Thereby, enhancing notes produced by the first device with digital sampled representations of notes produced by the second device.
In one embodiment the first mechanical acoustic sound generation device is a mechanical acoustic musical instrument and the second mechanical acoustic sound generation device is a mechanical acoustic musical instrument. In another embodiment, the first mechanical acoustic sound generation device is a mechanical acoustic piano and the second mechanical acoustic sound generation device is a mechanical acoustic piano. For this embodiment the second, smaller plurality of the first plurality of notes have a fundamental frequency range from about 0 Hertz to 261 Hertz. Further, the invention generates an acoustic representation of a corresponding note digitally sampled from the second mechanical device where the amplification of the acoustic representation of the corresponding note varies. In one embodiment, the amplification of the acoustic representation of the corresponding note varies linearly on a decibel scale with the greatest amplification at the lowest fundamental frequency range. In another embodiment, a user may select the overall amplification level of the acoustic representations of the corresponding notes.